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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arkansas Advanced Energy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 453724039
AR · NTEE O50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lauren Waldrip, Executive Director / CEO ($90,606) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 352 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Lauren Waldrip — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

352 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 352 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16 total compensation of comparable organizations → $131,938 $90,606
$8,61310th
$23,01125th
$43,717Median
$61,22575th
$77,82990th
$90,606This org · 94th
p10$8,613
p25$23,011
p50$43,717
p75$61,225
p90$77,829
$90,606

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to AR cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
E-town Area Youth Alliance PA$202,331 Executive Di $74,880 $64,720 2025
Legacy Sports Training TX$202,305 Executive Director $131,402 $116,937 2024
My Architecture Workshops Inc CT$202,787 President $10,000 $8,341 2024
Black Surf Santa Cruz Inc CA$202,836 President $85,067 $67,279 2023
First Priority Greater Nashville TN$201,874 Executive Director $51,966 $50,031 2023
Girls On The Run Of Sedgwick County KS$201,716 Executive Director $64,420 $61,915 2024
The Shepherds Door GA$201,446 Pastor $61,275 $54,812 2024
Project Reclaim Of Louisiana Inc LA$203,711 Executive Director $61,388 $60,137 2024
Azahar Foundation Ltd NY$203,869 Executive Director $46,346 $38,358 2023
Lifebridge Community Incorporated IN$203,896 Executive Director, Board Member $90,127 $82,376 2025
4 Degrees Alpine Ski Team MN$203,899 Sec.-manager $73,065 $66,126 2023
Jacarrie Kicks For Kids Inc WI$204,024 Executive Director $22,292 $21,323 2023
Servicing Every Soul CA$204,289 Board Member/executive Director $15,600 $11,984 2024
Free All Minds NJ$200,611 President $40,246 $31,968 2024
Dream Weavers Helping Dreams Become Reality CA$204,500 President $90,800 $69,753 2024
Elevate Your G A M E CA$200,362 Exec Director/secretary $67,127 $51,567 2024
Barnabas Movement Inc KS$204,720 Executive Director $20,400 $19,607 2024
Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation HI$200,041 President $20 $16 2024
Holly Area Community Coalition MI$200,022 Director $54,923 $50,434 2024
Team Long Run ME$199,912 Executive Dir. $56,500 $50,332 2024
Change The World Kids Inc VT$205,308 Interim Facilitator $33,800 $31,160 2023
Photo Start NY$199,295 Founding Director $46,500 $38,485 2023
Ileri Inc VI$205,864 Founder/executive Director $48,231 $48,231 2024
Slater Family Network Foundation Inc PA$205,903 Executive Director $46,673 $41,407 2024
Koa Foundation Inc NV$206,059 Secretary $1,500 $1,377 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to AR cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)89th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Lauren Waldrip) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 352 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $90,606 is reasonable (approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.